news-record.com

A hamstring pull has been a thorn in Josiel Colon's side for the last few weeks, and it was bad enough to keep the Northeast Guilford sophomore out of the field for Thursday's Mid-Piedmont 3-A baseball tournament championship against Asheboro.

But Colon was the designated hitter. And with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, he found himself standing on second base, 180 feet from victory.

"I asked him at second base if he'd be able to run on a base hit, and he said, 'Yeah, anything to win,' " Rams head coach David Lawing said.

Turned out it didn't take a base hit. A wild pitch moved Colon to third, and another a few pitches later sent him scampering home with a head-first slide to give the Rams a 14-13 win over Asheboro, a fitting conclusion to a tumultuous game.

"He didn't hesitate," Lawing said. "As soon as the ball got by him, he took off."

The Rams, who had lost 7-5 to Asheboro less than two weeks prior, led 8-3 early but surrendered four runs in the sixth and lost their starting pitcher when a 45-minute lightning delay brought an end to his night after 128 pitches.

A three-run homer pushed Northeast's cushion back to four, but the Blue Comets got all four back in the top of the seventh and led 13-11 after a two-run double by Dylan Prevatte in the top of the first extra inning.

Northeast had its 2-3-4 hitters coming up but found itself down to its final strike before a pair of singles and a walk by Jacob McCann set up a tying two-run double by his brother, Caleb.

The Rams open the playoffs at home on Friday against the winner of a play-in game between Williams and McMichael.

"Down to the last out, some teams would just kind of fold at that point," Lawing said. "In the long run, that's going to help this team, showing that here again, it's never over until it's over."

MORE BASEBALL: Bishop McGuinness will face East Surry in the finals of the Northwest Class 1-A/2-A tournament at 7 p.m. today at Surry Central in Dobson.

The Villains (13-8) upset top-seeded North Surry 3-1 on Thursday as Brandon Gray and Matt Rembielak combined on a three-hitter. ...

Caldwell, which has posted a school-record 11 wins without any seniors, earned a No. 12 seed in the NCISAA 2-A playoffs and travels to fifth-seeded Asheville Christian for the first round at 1 p.m. today.

"I played at Northeast Guilford in the late '90s," Eagles head coach and athletics director Dan Bozarth said, "and I cannot tell you how tough it has been to start a program from scratch. It definitely gives me an appreciation for well-established programs."

BASKETBALL: Northeast Guilford forward Michael Griffith has committed to play for Rockingham Community College. The 6-foot-2 senior averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks this season and was named to the Eastern Regional All-Tournament Team while leading the Rams to the state semifinals.

TRACK AND FIELD: The Caldwell girls track and field team captured its third consecutive Triad Athletic Conference title on Thursday, easily holding off Westchester to take another step toward defending its NCISAA 1-A/2-A state title.

Katie Robinson (100 and 200 meters), Taylor Dunn (800, 1,600, 3,200 meters) and Kaitlyn Shaw (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, triple jump) won multiple events. Natalie Bell is the TAC Coach of the Year. ...

Bishop McGuinness senior Ally Craven will sign a letter of intent Wednesday to run cross country and track for Belmont Abbey. Craven ran a personal best of 21:30 in the 5K and is on the Villains' 3,200-relay team ranked first in the regional.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com